Well shut-off.



G. M. SAVAGE.

WELL SHUT-OFF.

APPLICATION'HLED DEC. 14, 1914. 1,170,851. Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

1 IIHHTHIHHI- 1 f I COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPii C0,, WASHINGTON, n c.

GEORGE MARVIN SAVAGE, or Los ANGELES, CALIFO NIA.

WELL SHUT-OFF. f

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Feb. 8,1916.

. Application filed Deee mberl l, 1914; Serial No. 877,085.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE MARVIN SAV- AGE, a citizen of the United States,- residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los An-,

geles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Well Shut- Offs, of which the following is a specifica-f tion.

This invention relates to a shut-01f .de-'

vice for wells; particularly for oil Wells and the like where fluid under great pressure I is frequently encountered; and the invention consists in the provision of an'efiective and easily operated provision for controlling the flow of fluld from a well flowing under great pressure.

There are several features of my invention which I wish to partlcularly emphaslze; prime among which are the construction and form of the cap members which are forced.

over the upper end of the casing and;the

means connected with these cap members,

for controlling theflow of fluid, and also the means for mounting and moving the cap members. These features will be best understood from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein I describe and illustrate a preferred'form of.

my device. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section showing myimproved well shut-H in use and Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken as indicated by line 22 of Fig. 1.

In thedrawings the well casing is illustrated as and the floor of the derrick about the well is illustrated at 11. The casing may be supported in any well known manner as by a spider 12 mounted upon a suitable foundation or supper-t1?) beneath the derrick floor; it being essential to the use of my invention that the upper end of the casing be supported approximately at a fixed point, so that the shut-off mechanism will register with the casing. The shut-off mechanism is permanently mounted beneath the derrick floor ready for use at any time; and being so permanently mounted, after the well starts to flow it is only necessary to perform the simple operation of moving the 7 heads of the casing caps toward each other over the casing as will be hereinafter described.

In the preferred form of my shut-off mechanism I employ a number of anchor piers 14 arranged opposite sides of the well casing; and at the upper ends of these piers. there are carried two opposite horizontal beams 15, secured to the piersin any suitable manner at'a convenient height above the ground. These piers and beams are of suitably heavy construction to with stand the upward pressure of the fluid flow ing through the casing. 7

Transverse guide rods are lmounted between the opposite beams 15, these rods forming the transverse ways on which the opposite halves 21 of the casing caps are adapted to slide. In the preferred form Iv I provide four of these transverse bearing. rods 20 of suitable size and strength to with-- stand. the upward pressure on the casing, cap. The casing cap, as hereinbefore stated,

is preferably formed in halves, each half having a semi-cylindrical piece 25 for re ception ofthe upper end of. the casing 10. When the halves are forced together, these pieces fit tightly around the upper end of the casing. Immediately above the upper.

end of the casing thereare passages .26 in each cap half, which passages'lead to outlets 27 each controlled by a separate'valve 28. The number of outlets in each cap half may bevaried; but I prefer to provide two. opposite outlets in .eachjcaphalf, each controlled by a valve 28 ;fs o that therelare four separate outlets from the cap. Each of these outlets is of a size nearly or quite equal to the size of the casing; so that the fluid, after it emerges from the upper end ofthe casing, is affordedan easy and free outlet from the cap. Pipes 30 may or maynotbe permanently connected with the valves 28 as indicated for one of the valves in Fig. 2.

- During drilling operations the cap halves are moved apart from each other away from their positions over the upper end of the casing. The upper end of the casing is thus left free and open for drilling operations. When itis desired to shut off the flow of' fluid from the upper end of the casing, the cap halves are moved inwardly through the medium of the heavy screws These screws 35 are mounted in suitable bearing nuts 36 on the beams 15 and press with their inner ends against the cap halves 21. The outer ends of the screws may be arranged for application of a wrench; or the screws may be operated in any convenient or suitable manner. For instance, connection' may be made with the screws for operathe well is being drilled; so that the complete apparatus is ready for instantaneous use should the well begin to flow under pressure. When this occurs, the screws 35 are operated to screw the cap halves toward each other over the end of the casing, to the position shown in the drawing. During this operation the valves 28 are all wide open, so as to allow free exit for the fluid through the valve controlled outlets. The pipes 30 may be all ready attached to the valves for leading the fluid some way off. If these pipes are not already attached, it is only necessary to then shut ofl one valve at a time and to attach one pipe at a time, immediately afterward opening the closed valve to allow the exit of fluid through its pipe. Thus, in attaching the pipe to lead the fluid to a distant point it is only necessary to close off one of the outlets at any time; and by this mode of operation the full fluid pressure is never confined within the cap and the cap is not subjected to the maximum pressure. The outlets are of such aggregate capacity that any one of them may be shut oft at any time, and the flow of fluid may be thus directed as desired, without materially increasing the pressure upon the cap.

Another mode of operation may be carried out if the apparatus is not ready when the well begins to flow; the piers may be placed, and then the beams, etc., may be placed after the well starts flowing. The beams and all the apparatus carried thereon, completely set up, may be slid lengthwise between the piers on rails, skids or the like, and bolted to the piers as shown; the cap being open during the operation. The cap may then be closed and the fluid controlled as before described. This may not be necessary as in some cases it will be possible to construct the apparatus right around the flowing well.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a well shut-off, the combination with a well casing of an anchored foundation, horizontal ways thereon, a casing cap divided into halves slidable on the horizontal ways on opposite sides of the casing and having outlets, and means to force said halves together over the casing.

' In a well shutoff, the combination with a well casing of an anchored foundation, horizontal ways thereon, a casing cap divided into halves slidable on the horizontal ways on opposite sides of the casing, and means to force said halves together over the casing, said cap halves having fluid passages therein with a plurality of outlets, and valves controlling said outlets.

3. In a well shut-0E, the combination with a well casing of anchor piers arranged on opposite sides of the casing, horizontal beams secureduto the upper ends of the anchor piers, transverse horizontal rods secured between the beams, a cap divided into two halves 'slidable on the transverse rods on opposite'sides of the casing, and means for forcing the cap halves toward each other to a position over the casing.

4. In a well shut-off, the combination with a well casing of anchor piers arranged on opposite sides of the casing, horizontal beams secured to the upper ends of the anchor piers, transverse horizontal rods secured between the beams, a cap divided into two halves slidable on the transverse rods on opposite sides of the casing, and means for forcing the cap halves toward each other to a position over the casing, each cap half having a fluid passage with a plurality of outlets, and an individual. valve controlling each outlet, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 7th day of December, 1914.

GEORGE MARVIN SAVAGE.

Witnesses:

JAMEs T. BARKELEW, ELwoon H. BARKELEW.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. V 

